A data center may be defined as a location, for instance, a room that houses computer systems arranged in a number of racks. These racks are configured to house a number of computer systems which typically include a number of printed circuit boards (PCBs), mass storage devices, power supplies, processors, micro-controllers, and semi-conductor devices, that dissipate relatively significant amounts of heat during their operation.
Air conditioning units are typically used to cool heated air received from the computer systems and to supply the cooled air back to the computer systems. The cooled air is typically supplied through a series of vent tiles positioned above a plenum that directs airflow from the air conditioning units to the vent tiles. In some data centers, a plurality of air conditioning units are controlled by a central controller, such that, for instance, the air conditioning units are capable of being controlled under a global policy implemented by the central controller. These types of data centers are often beneficial because they typically enable the air conditioning units to operate under relatively optimized energy usage conditions.
However, when there is a failure in the central controller or in the communication path between the central controller and the air conditioning units, the air conditioning units typically shut down or fail to provide sufficient cooling resources to maintain the computer systems within desired conditions. These types of data centers are known to employ alarm monitoring systems, such that the personnel can manually adjust the air conditioning units should failures occur. Reliance upon alarm monitoring systems and manual adjustments, however, may result in damage to the computer systems due to the relatively long period of time required for the personnel make the manual adjustments.